Indications for relaparotomy

From 1980 to 1987, 10,446 patients were operated on. In 152 patients, the necessity of a repeated operative intervention arose. In 106 patients the emergency, in 42--delayed, and in 4--elective relaparotomies were performed. There were the following indications for relaparotomy: diffuse and circumscribed peritonitis (78 patients), ileus (46), eventration (11), hemorrhage (12), others (5). Diagnosis of postoperative complications requiring relaparotomy is difficult. The postoperative lethality was 26%.     

Disordered postoperative course. A retrospective analysis

A brief definition of the term of "relaparotomy" is followed by reference to some causes of erroneous or delayed decisionmaking on re-operation. The background of postoperative disorders is, basically, one and the same throughout acute surgery: haemorrhage, peritonitis, ileus. Relaparotomy was necessary in 0.6 per cent of the authors' cases, in the course of five years. Lethality amounted to 31 per cent at an average age of 50 years. Colorectal carcinoma was the most common cause of relaparotomy, with ileus of the small intestine being the most important of all indications. The average intervals between primary surgery and relaparotomy were seven days for ileus, 3.5 days for peritonitis, and up to 24 hours for postoperative bleeding. A lethality analysis after the first operation showed that only two of 96 deaths were attributable to omission of relaparotomy. Finally, reference is made to some clinical peculiarities in postoperative developments as well as to evaluation and interpretation of paraclinical data.     

Intra-abdominal hemorrhages in the early postoperative period and their diagnosis]

In the period from 1977 to 1987, after 13,306 operations carried out on the abdominal organs in the clinic, intra-abdominal hemorrhages occurred in 34 (0.25%) patients which had to de managed by emergency relaparotomy. From analysis of case records (28 taken from the archives and 6 of patients who were under observation) of the relationship between the large number (195) of signs represented by a block of clinico-laboratory and radiological data, an integral diagnostic criterion of intra-abdominal hemorrhages was obtained. The diagnostic significance of the criterion was 98.6%. Its practical application comes to recognition of intra-abdominal hemorrhage by identifying the symptoms and syndromes found in the patient with this early postoperative complication with the symptoms and syndromes composing the integral criterion. A revealed integral diagnostic criterion is a concrete indication for undertaking emergency relaparotomy.     

Early Elevation of Intra-Abdominal Pressure After Laparotomy for Secondary Peritonitis: A Predictor of Relaparotomy?

BACKGROUND: Patients with secondary peritonitis often require relaparotomy; however, there is no consensus about the criteria for selecting patients who would benefit from early relaparotomy. Our goal was to evaluate whether elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) during the early postoperative period could predict the need for relaparotomy. METHODS: A total of 102 consecutive adult patients with acute intra-abdominal conditions were admitted for laparotomy. Seventy-eight patients, who were diagnosed with secondary peritonitis at index surgery, underwent serial measurements of IAP. The primary outcomes measured in the study were incidence of postoperative peritonitis and mortality. RESULTS: Thirty-two of 78 patients with secondary peritonitis (41%) developed elevated IAP postoperatively. Sixteen (20.5%) of 78 patients developed postoperative peritonitis. Twelve of these 16 patients (75%) with postoperative peritonitis had significantly elevated IAP (P = 0.002) during the immediate postoperative period. Regression analysis revealed elevated IAP (P = 0.055) to be third most predictive of postoperative peritonitis in patients who underwent laparotomy for secondary peritonitis, after septic shock at admission (P = 0.012) and POSSUM score (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that development of elevated IAP during the early postoperative period can increase the risk of postoperative peritonitis. IAP measured during the immediate postoperative period can be used as a predictor of early relaparotomy.     

Postoperative bezoar ileus after early enteral feeding

Postoperative enteral nutrition is a widely accepted route of application for nutrition formulas due to a low complication rate, a good acceptance by patients. and a favorable cost-effectiveness. We report three cases of bezoar ileus after early postoperative enteral nutrition, using a fine needle jejunostomy (FNJ) in two cases and a nasoduodenal tube in one case. A male patient who underwent gastric resection for a gastrointestinal stroma tumor and was nourished through an fine needle jejunostomy developed an acute abdomen on the seventh postoperative day. Surgical exploration revealed a mechanical ileus caused by denaturated nutrition formula distal to the catheter tip. The second case, a female patient, underwent gastric resection for a gastric cancer and on the fourth postoperative day developed acute onset of abdominal pain. Intraoperative findings were the same as described in the first case. The third case, a male patient with necrotizing cholecystitis, underwent open cholecystectomy. Postoperative enteral feeding was performed using a nasoduodenal tube. He developed a small bowel obstruction on the 17th postoperative day that was caused by an intraluminal bezoar. In conclusion, bezoar formation represents an underestimated complication of postoperative enteral feeding. Acute onset of abdominal pain and the development of small bowel obstruction are the main clinical symptoms of this severe complication. The pathogenesis of bezoar formation remains unclear.     

Video-assisted laparoscopic enterolithotomy: new technique in the surgical management of gallstone ileus

Our goal was to analyze the results obtained with the surgical treatment of gallstone ileus using a new video-assisted laparoscopic technique. Six patients with gallstone ileus were admitted to the Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín of Buenos Aires between March 1996 and April 1998. The patients' charts were retrospectively studied. Five of the six patients were women, with an average age of 71.2 years. Enterolithotomy was performed in four patients, laparoscopic enterolithotomy in one, and diagnostic laparoscopy with no need of further surgical treatment (because the calculus migrated to the colon) in the remaining patient. The postoperative complication rate was 33%. In one patient, acute pulmonary edema and sepsis developed, and death occurred in the immediate postoperative period (mortality rate, 16.6%). The average hospital stay was 6.6 days. The average follow-up was 16 months. No patient required treatment of the enterovesical fistula; all of them remained asymptomatic. One patient died as the result of evolution of vesicular adenocarcinoma. This approach represents a safe and feasible technique that may reduce the morbidity associated with the surgical treatment of gallstone ileus by guiding the surgical incision, preventing unnecessary laparotomies, and improving abdominal exploration.     

Incidence of development and the results of treatment of post- operative peritonitis

In the clinic at the period of from 1977 to 1987 after 13,006 operations on the abdominal organs, 185 patients (1.4%) ranging in age from 16 to 89 years developed peritonitis. The lethality after relaparotomy performed within the first 24 hours of the complication development was 15.9%, later on--73.7%. In spite of the large extent and trauma of radical relaparotomy, the lethality after it was 56%, after palliative one--90%. Timely is the performance of relaparotomy within the first 6 h from the moment of the complication development, in prolongation of the time to 7-12 h, the lethality was 12.5%.     

腹腔镜肠黏连松解联合应用生物蛋白胶治疗黏连性肠梗阻

目的探讨腹腔镜肠黏连松解联合应用生物蛋白胶治疗黏连性肠梗阻的可行性及其疗效。方法总结1998年5月至2003年10月间,28例黏连性小肠梗阻患者进行腹腔镜黏连松解术、并配合留置医用生物蛋白胶防止再黏连的临床资料。结果应用腹腔镜全组均成功实施黏连松解术解除肠梗阻,均于术中留置医用生物蛋白胶防止再黏连,未出现手术并发症和过敏现象;随访3～60个月,未发现肠梗阻症状复发。结论腹腔镜肠黏连松解术配合生物蛋白胶治疗黏连性肠梗阻安全实用,疗效满意,是处理黏连性肠梗阻的理想手段之一。     

Postoperative ileus in the lower extremity arthroplasty patient

Postoperative ileus is a recognized complication of lower extremity surgery. In a review of 21,589 patients who underwent either total hip or total knee arthroplasty between 1988 and 1997, 0.32% developed postoperative ileus. The ileus lasted >3 days in 46% of patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with ileus during 3 days after total joint arthroplasty. The average age of the patients with prolonged ileus was 69.1 years, and 70% were male. The development of a prolonged ileus was associated significantly with younger age (P<.005) and male gender (P<.02). In total knee arthroplasty, more cases of postoperative ileus were seen in bilateral surgery. Patients who are younger, male, and undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty are at an increased risk of having a more prolonged postoperative ileus and should be monitored closely.     

Relaparotomy in patients with perforated gastric and duodenal ulcers]

The article discusses the results of analysis of the causes of relaparotomy in 54 (3.1%) patients with perforating gastroduodenal ulcer in the period between 1966 and 1985, as well as the peculiarities of the course of complications, establishment of the diagnosis, and the methods and outcomes of surgical treatment. Postoperative mortality was 24.07%. The outcomes of relaparotomy were determined by early diagnosis of the complication, the time of the repeated operation, and the radical character of the first operative intervention. Mortality was less in relaparotomy undertaken in time (10.0%) than in late operations (41.7%). Mortality was highest among patients with postoperative peritonitis (46.7%). Postoperative peritonitis and intestinal obstruction were the most frequent conditions for which relaparotomy was carried out. Such factors as late hospitalization of the patients and generalization of peritonitis, the patients' age, doctors' errors, lateness and type of the first operative intervention played the principal role in the development of complication.     

Twenty-years experience of relaparotomy performance

The results of 204 relaparotomy operations, performed by a single surgeon in 1985-2004 yrs, were analyzed. The data concerning primary operations, their order of emergency, complications, occurred in postoperative period, demanding relaparotomy performance, the causes of their occurrence, were presented.     

Analysis of early complications after radical cystectomy: results of a collaborative care pathway

PURPOSE: We examined our recent series of patients who underwent radical cystectomy to determine and analyze the early perioperative morbidity of the procedure in a contemporary series treated with the guidance of a clinical pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of 304 consecutive patients who underwent radical cystectomy from December 1995 to July 2000. We specifically evaluated complications that developed within 30 days of the procedure. Potential variables predictive of early morbidity were analyzed, including patient age, gender, race, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, type of urinary diversion, smoking history, estimated blood loss, transfusion requirement, pathological stage and operative time. RESULTS: The overall minor complication rate was 30.9% (94 of 304 patients). Postoperative ileus was the most common minor complication, affecting 54 patients (18%). Increased blood loss and major complications predicted a significantly higher likelihood of ileus on multivariate analysis (p = 0.02 and 0.001, respectively). Major complications in 15 patients (4.9%) correlated with higher American Society of Anesthesiologists score, surgical intensive care unit admission and transfusion requirement (p = 0.01, <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). The early mortality rate was 0.3% (1 patient). CONCLUSIONS: Within the framework of a clinical pathway, radical cystectomy can be performed safely with an acceptable rate of early minor and major complications. Delay in the return of bowel function is the most common minor complication. Increased estimated blood loss, transfusion requirement and a major complication predicted a higher likelihood of postoperative ileus. The acceptable rate of early morbidity in this series in a 5-year period validates its use in patients undergoing radical cystectomy.     

Laparoscopy in abdominal emergencies. Indications and limitations

Laparoscopy, which has been well known as a diagnostic procedure for more than a century, has recently established itself as an important therapeutic procedure in several branches of surgery. In the present study the authors report on 221 patients over a 10-year period (1991-2001), admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of acute abdomen or abdominal trauma. All patients were submitted to emergency laparoscopic surgery; 128 patients (57%) presented acute appendicitis, 40 (18%) acute cholecystitis, 13 (6%) occlusive ileus, 10 (5%) adnexal pathologies, 9 (4%) perforation of abdominal viscera, 3 (1.4%) acute diverticulitis, 3 (1.4%) subdiaphragmatic abscesses, 3 (1.4%) intestinal infarction, 2 (0.8%) other diseases and 10 (5%) abdominal trauma. The operation was completed laparoscopically in 192 cases (87%), while conversion to laparotomy proved necessary in 29 cases (13%). The morbidity of the cases completed laparoscopically was 3%, the mortality 0.5%, and the mean hospital stay 4 days. Advantages of laparoscopy (shorter hospital stay, rapid postoperative recovery and faster return to social activities) emerge from the present study and are confirmed by the literature. The possibility of combining a diagnostic procedure with curative therapy suggests that laparoscopy may have an important role in emergency surgery, demonstrating its efficacy also in acute abdominal syndromes. Nevertheless, emergency laparoscopic surgery is still a technically difficult procedure that needs to be performed by an expert surgical team.     

Cholécystectomie laparoscopique dans les cholécystites aiguës

PurposeTo determine the feasibility, operative risk and patients'benefit of laparoscopy in emergency cholecystectomy for acute calculous cholecystitis.Patients and methodsFrom January 1991 to December 1998, 234 patients with acute calculous cholecystitis were operated on by emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There were 131 women and 103 men (mean age: 57 years), (Asa 2: 48%, Asa 3: 10%). In seven patients, choledocolithiasis was detected by endoscopic ultrasonography and preoperatively treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy. The mean delay between in-hospital admission and cholecystectomy was 20 hours (2–160). Cholecystectomy was performed with primary approach of Calot's triangle. Intraoperative cholangiography, selectively performed (n = 70), detected choledocolithiasis in three patients.ResultsThe mean duration of surgery was 149 minutes (62–313). The conversion rate was 13 % and decreased through the years. The postoperative complication rate was 18%. Eight patients (3.4%) had an abdominal complication. One patient (0.4%) died of bile peritonitis after intraoperative undetected main bile duct injury. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.04 days. It was 3.5 days only, very old patients and those with severe associated disease being excluded.ConclusionLaparoscopy appears to be a good approach for emergency cholecystectomy in patients with acute calculous cholecystitis.     

The use of neostigmine to treat postoperative ileus in orthopedic spinal patients.

Ileus is a common complication of spinal surgery, affecting 5% to 12% of all patients. Often this ileus is secondary to acute colonic pseudo-obstruction. This study is a prospective clinical trial of neostigmine in seven spinal patients with ileus after surgery to demonstrate its efficacy. All patients had evidence of the Ogilvie syndrome that was unresponsive to 24 hours of conservative therapy. Patients received 2 mg neostigmine, and abdominal circumference, clinical response, and radiographic colonic measurements were recorded. Patients were followed for recurrence of ileus for their remaining time in the hospital. Six patients had prompt colonic decompression, and no patient had recurrence of colonic distension. Side effects were minimal. These results suggest that postoperative spinal patients with ileus secondary to acute colonic pseudo-obstruction that is unresponsive to conservative therapy benefit from treatment with neostigmine, resulting in safe, rapid decompression of the colon.     

Intraabdominal hemorrhage after surgery on the abdominal organs requiring relaparotomy]

The results of 76 relaparotomies performed for intraabdominal postoperative hemorrhage after emergency and elective operation on the abdominal organs are presented. The clinical features, diagnosis of profuse and capillary postoperative hemorrhage, causes and indications for relaparotomy performance are considered. Lethality in intraabdominal postoperative hemorrhage was 18.4%.     

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

Summary Because laparoscopic cholecystectomy reduces hospitalization time and postoperative disability, it is being offered to an increasing number of patients with symptomatic gallstones. Nevertheless, acute cholecystitis is still considered by many surgeons to be a relative contraindication. Our standard approach has been to perform laparoscopy on all patients considered candidates for cholecystectomy. From June 1990 to October 1991, the authors personally performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy on 110 patients, 29 (26%) of whom had pathologically confirmed acute cholecystitis. Of these, nine had evidence of gangrene, perforation, or abscess formation. It was necessary to convert to open cholecystectomy in four (14%) patients. In each, inflammation or dense adhesions precluded the performance of a safe operation. The hepatorenal space was drained in 12 (41%) and cystic dust cholangiograms were performed selectively. The mean operating time was 108 min. There were no intraoperative complications. One patient developed a prolonged postoperative paralytic ileus and two patients were noted to have postoperative common duct stones. There were no deaths. The average postoperative stay for laparoscopic cholecystectomy was 2.6 days. We conclude that the advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be safely and effectively extended to the majority of patients with acute cholecystitis.     

Relaparotomies after emergency operations

For the period from 1958 till 1977 27530 patients were operated upon for acute surgical diseases of organs of the abdominal cavity. Postoperative complications requiring relaparotomy were found in 330 cases (1,2%). Relaparotomy is the main method in the complex treatment of postoperative complications, and when performed for correct indications and in proper time, it contributes to elimination of the source of complications and the threat of their progressing.     

Results of sonographically-guided percutaneous procedures as therapy of liquid-filled space-occupying lesions in acute abdomen

In the period from 1985 emergency sonographic study has been performed in 56 patients. In 44 cases we found intraabdominal abscesses, in 5 liver cysts with internal bleeding, in 5 postoperative lymphatic cysts, and in 2 cases loculated pleural empyemas. In 35 patients ultrasound guided therapeutic procedures were performed; there were 13 punctures (some repeated) and 22 drainages. In 29 patients no further surgical treatment was necessary. The over all success rate was 82.9%. One patient developed bacteremia after percutaneous drainage and an other developed subcutaneous abscess (complication rate: 5.7%). When abscesses are sufficiently drained no antibiotic therapy is needed.